Nuveen LLC Invests $20.59 Million in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has made a significant investment of $20.59 million in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) by acquiring approximately 1,976,288 shares in the 1st quarter, representing 1.53% ownership of the company.
• Viasat recently reported earnings of $0.17 per share, surpassing analyst expectations and achieving a revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter.
• Analysts have mixed views on Viasat, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.13, while some have made significant adjustments to their price objectives.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,976,288 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,593,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 1.53% of Viasat at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VSAT. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Viasat by 538.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,136,675 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $9,673,000 after purchasing an additional 958,706 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 6.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,646,644 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $152,618,000 after buying an additional 872,784 shares during the last quarter. Tenzing Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viasat during the fourth quarter valued at $7,170,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 149.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,365,194 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $11,618,000 after buying an additional 818,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viasat by 417.0% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 769,857 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $8,022,000 after buying an additional 620,947 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viasat Price Performance

Shares of Viasat stock traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $28.21. The stock had a trading volume of 3,407,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,754,236. The stock's 50 day moving average is $18.45 and its 200 day moving average is $12.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Viasat Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.69 and a twelve month high of $28.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of -6.11 and a beta of 1.20.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Viasat had a negative net margin of 13.11% and a negative return on equity of 6.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Viasat Inc. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Viasat from $16.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. William Blair raised shares of Viasat from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Viasat from $10.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Viasat from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Viasat in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.13.

Viasat Profile

Viasat, Inc provides broadband and communications products and services worldwide. The company's Satellite Services segment offers satellite-based fixed broadband services, including broadband internet access and voice over internet protocol services to consumers and businesses; in-flight entertainment and aviation software services to commercial airlines and private business jets; satellite-based connectivity services; mobile broadband services, including satellite-based internet services to energy offshore vessels, cruise ships, consumer ferries, and yachts; and energy services, which include ultra-secure solutions IP connectivity, bandwidth-optimized over-the-top applications, industrial internet-of-things big data enablement, and industry-leading machine learning analytics.